View full sizeRon Jenkins / Fort Worth Star-TelegramNick Collins celebrated the clinching defensive play on fourth down on Sunday, as largely homegrown rosters on Green Bay and Pittsburgh provided a winning roadmap to playoff success for have-nots such as the Browns, says Terry Pluto.

Related story

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- There's no need to insult Browns' fans by simply saying their favorite team must draft better if it's ever to even dare to dream about reaching the Super Bowl.

But until I read a post by Chris Malumphy on DraftHistory.com, I never realized how deep the homegrown roots are for winner Green Bay and that team from Western Pennsylvania that so torments the Browns.

Consider this: 37 of 44 players -- 11 on offense and defense for each team -- who started most of the games for Pittsburgh and Green Bay this season were either drafted by their current teams or were signed as undrafted free agents.

It all comes down to one word: Scouting.

Nine of 11 starters on offense for Pittsburgh were draft picks.

Browns fans can reach for the Tums every time they think about how Butch Davis passed on Ben Roethlisberger and selected tight end Kellen Winslow instead during the 2004 first round. Davis traded a second-round pick to move up from seventh to sixth -- a single spot -- to select Winslow.

Roethlisberger was the No. 11 pick in that draft.

But it's not only Big Ben that made the Steelers. It's how they found running back Rashard Mendenhall at No. 23 in 2008. Or Hines Ward at No. 92 in 1998. Or speedy receiver Mike Wallace at No. 84 in 2009, the same year the Browns picked receivers Brian Robiskie (No. 36) and Mohamed Massaquoi (No. 50).

The Steelers had four first-round picks starting on offense, four more on defense. None were drafted higher than No. 11.

That's scouting.

Or how about this? As Malumphy pointed out, since winning the 2009 Super Bowl, the Steelers have six new starters on offense. They just keep finding players.

Pittsburgh's defense had 10 starters either drafted or signed as undrafted free agents. Some were cut by other teams, such as Kent State product James Harrison. The point is the Steelers keep restocking talent without being at the top of the draft.

The story is much the same for Green Bay.

Franchise quarterback Aaron Rodgers was the No. 25 pick in the 2005 draft, the same year the Browns picked Braylon Edwards (No. 3), Brodney Pool (No. 34) and Charlie Frye (No. 67). Who knew that Rodgers would not only replace Brett Favre, but make people in Green Bay glad to see the aging quarterback leave?

Teams such as Washington keep trying to take shortcuts by signing overpriced free agents, many of whom are well over the hill.

The good teams not only draft well, but develop their low-round picks and undrafted free agents into viable players. That is something former coach Eric Mangini was doing with his "opportunity periods" after practice, which yielded the likes of Marcus Benard, Evan Moore and Brian Schaefering.

The Browns started six of their own picks on offense for most games: Joe Thomas, Alex Mack, Lawrence Vickers, Colt McCoy, Robiskie and Massaquoi. On defense, it was a mere three: Ahtyba Rubin, Joe Haden and T.J. Ward -- and Haden started only seven games, replacing Eric Wright (another draft pick).

You can play a bit with the numbers, but the Browns started no more than nine of their own picks in most games.

Ten of 11 Packer offensive starters were draft picks, the other was James Starks -- signed as an undrafted free agent.

The obvious point is the Browns must draft better. But just as critical, they need the same front office doing the drafting. When a team consistently changes front offices and/or coaches, there is a tendency for the new regime to dump the players picked by the old guys in charge.

Former first rounders Kamerion Wimbley (Oakland), Winslow (Tampa Bay), Edwards (Jets) are starting elsewhere. Some of the deals were good, some were not. But the lack of continuity in the front office leads to constant changing of the roster.

OK, here's the bright side.

While Mike Holmgren is the team president and it was his idea to grab McCoy in the third round, the draft is being driven by Tom Heckert. Under his watch, the 2010 draft produced three starters: Haden, Ward and McCoy.

Heckert's last season with Philadelphia was 2009, when the Eagles had 15 starters who either were his draft picks or signed as undrafted free agents. In his second season as the Browns' general manager, Heckert's background is scouting.

As this Super Bowl showed, that's what separates the winners from losers in the NFL.

Follow Us

cleveland.com is powered by Plain Dealer Publishing Co. and Northeast Ohio Media Group. All rights reserved (About Us).The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Northeast Ohio Media Group LLC.